Licia Proserpio – University of Bologna (Italy)
April 23, 2025, 19:00-20:30 (JST) Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only / No registration required
In February 2021, Myanmar experienced the third coup d’état in its modern history. Not wanting to lose the benefits gained the previous decade of reforms (2011-2021), students, teachers, professors, and activists are fuelling the Spring Revolution. To understand what is happening in Myanmar, the talk outlines the historical efforts by Myanmar universities to agitate for a more just society and offers unique insight into the long-lasting struggle of education against authoritarianism. By exploring Myanmar’s social and political struggles through the lens of higher education resistance, the talk offers a compelling narrative about the life of the country following the latest coup d’état and some reflections on student-led initiatives in education that can shape the future of the country once a new policy window for change will re-open. (Image: In the Shadows of Triple Betrayal by Chuu Wai)
Licia Proserpio is a Research Fellow at the Department of History and Culture – University of Bologna (Italy) and Adjunct Professor at the School of Liberal Studies at UPES (India). Her research explores the political dimensions of education, as well as the historical and contemporary roles of universities and social movements across Southeast and South Asia. She conducts fieldwork to gain in-depth insights into these areas, allowing her to understand the lived experiences and local contexts that shape these complex issues. In 2024, she released her first book, Resistance through Higher Education: Myanmar Universities’ Struggle against Authoritarianism, published by Bristol University Press. Currently, Licia is PI of the project “areUsafe – Are Universities Safe spaces” financed by the Italian Ministry of University and Research. The project aims to understand access and participation in higher education for forcibly displaced students in South and Southeast Asia.
This talk is organized by David Slater (Professor of Anthropology, Sophia University).